danot Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Yup, although maybe god'll let them off on a technicality. Of course you can. You just have to have become something else first, because you start as an atheist. No of course parents cannot control everything their child thinks from the moment of birth onwards. Something that's not at all relevant to your current silly line of thought. Why is it not relevant? Why should a baby that has been baptized remain atheist? Would you like it if the Vatican were claiming that every child was born Catholic and will remain catholic until they make a conscious decision to be something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Why should a baby that has been baptized remain atheist? This is brilliant, it appears you CAN actually be an atheist Christian! These definitions from here Atheist- a person who does not believe in the existence of God or gods Does this apply to a new born baby? No/Yes Christian- a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Jesus Christ and his teachings. Does this apply to the baby once it has been baptised? No/Yes Atheist- a person who does not believe in the existence of God or gods Does this still apply to the same baby now it has been baptised? No/Yes You learn something new every day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 This is brilliant, it appears you CAN actually be an atheist Christian! These definitions from here Atheist- a person who does not believe in the existence of God or gods Does this apply to a new born baby? No/Yes Christian- a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Jesus Christ and his teachings. Does this apply to the baby once it has been baptised? No/Yes Atheist- a person who does not believe in the existence of God or gods Does this still apply to the same baby now it has been baptised? No/Yes You learn something new every day! I'm an atheist catholic. Non-practising & non-believing catholic, but still. I can't really choose to not be catholic, maybe if I converted to another faith, but atheism is a lack of faith, by definition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I'm an atheist catholic. Non-practising & non-believing catholic, but still. I can't really choose to not be catholic, maybe if I converted to another faith, but atheism is a lack of faith, by definition. How does one become a Catholic then? what is the criteria to be met? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 How does one become a Catholic then? what is the criteria to be met? I think it's either your Mother is a catholic, or you are baptised as a catholic. It might just be if you're baptised. As an atheist I'm no expert on church dogma, but it's pretty hard to escape. I'm fairly sure that whether you have faith or not is pretty irrelevant to whether you're a catholic or not, it just makes you a bad catholic. I think you might have to convert to another religion. Even if you're excommunicated, you're still a catholic, in the eyes of the church. Converting to another religion might not even be enough to stop being a catholic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I think it's either your Mother is a catholic, or you are baptised as a catholic. It might just be if you're baptised. As an atheist I'm no expert on church dogma, but it's pretty hard to escape. I'm fairly sure that whether you have faith or not is pretty irrelevant to whether you're a catholic or not, it just makes you a bad catholic. Hah! I just remembered I was Christened as a baby. That makes me an atheist agnostic humanist apatheist Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hah! I just remembered I was Christened as a baby. That makes me an atheist agnostic humanist apatheist Christian I'm not sure if the CofE dogma is quite so strict. For Catholics, it's pretty much impossible to stop being a Catholic. You just lose your right to receive holy communion, you're still obliged to go to mass (of course as an atheist you can safely ignore that religious obligation). This seems to be a good summery... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication#The_Catholic_Church Excommunicated Catholics are still Catholics and remain bound by obligations such as attending Mass, even though they are barred from receiving the Eucharist and from taking an active part in the liturgy (reading, bringing the offerings, etc.).[3] However, their communion with the Church is considered gravely impaired.[4] In spite of that, they are urged to retain a relationship with the Church, as the goal is to encourage them to repent and return to active participation in its life. To become a catholic who might not burn in hell for eternity again you have to repent all your sins, like not going to mass every Sunday when you thought you were atheist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I'm not sure if the CofE dogma is quite so strict. For Catholics, it's pretty much impossible to stop being a Catholic. You just lose your right to receive holy communion, you're still obliged to go to mass (of course as an atheist you can safely ignore that religious obligation). This seems to be a good summery... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication#The_Catholic_Church To become a catholic who might not burn in hell for eternity again you have to repent all your sins, like not going to mass every Sunday. Well unless you can undo a baptism it looks like I'll be an atheist agnostic apatheist humanist Christian for quite a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Well unless you can undo a baptism it looks like I'll be an atheist agnostic apatheist humanist Christian for quite a while. I'm not sure what the rules are for non-Catholics. I just know there is pretty much no way out if you're baptised a Catholic & an atheist is a person who doesn't believe in any religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I'm not sure what the rules are for non-Catholics. I just know there is pretty much no way out if you're baptised a Catholic & an atheist is a person who doesn't believe in any religion. Sorry to nitpick but strictly speaking, an atheist doesn't have a belief in any gods, not religion itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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